“Game of Thrones” bid farewell to major characters in the penultimate third season episode “The Rains of Castamere.” The episode sparked outrage among some fans. (HBO)

HBO is drumming up the hype for the return of “Game of Thrones” with five mini-videos teasing the new season’s first trailer, to be aired Sunday.

That’s right — five teasers for a trailer, all posted on the show’s Vine account.

The sprawling political fantasy series, which returns April 6 for its fourth season, is based on George R. R. Martin’s bestselling “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series and has become a marquee attraction for HBO and a critical darling. In addition to being nominated for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series at this month’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, with star Peter Dinklage also nominated for his individual dramatic performance, “Thrones” has developed a massive and devoted fan following.

The Vine videos (watch them below) feature several scenes, including Jon Snow (Kit Harington) facing off against the Wildlings with whom he was encamped during much of Season 3, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her advisers, mounted soldiers cutting down their foes, Dornish Prince Oberyn Martell (newcomer Pedro Pascal) fighting the Mountain in an arena battle, and Tyrion Lannister (Dinklage) being escorted in shackles once again.

The show shocked audiences last year with the controversial Red Wedding depicted in the penultimate episode of Season 3, “The Rains of Castamere,” in which series co-creators and executive producers David Benioff and fellow show runner D.B. Weiss famously slashed several members of the enormous cast in their adaptation of Martin’s Red Wedding.

“Game of Thrones’” fourth season is expected to chart the events chronicled in the latter half of Martin’s sprawling third book in the series, “A Storm of Swords,” but will also introduce characters and occurrences from other novels.

“We’re splitting the third book into two seasons,” Benioff told Hero Complex. “But it doesn’t necessarily map along so neatly where if you split the book in half that’s where the season ends. We just tried to figure out where would be the best place to start each story line and conclude each story line. But that’s the idea — two seasons, one book.”